


The Year She Discovered She Was a Witch

by Merenrys



Series: The Life of Aubrianna Kingsleigh [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon - Book & Movie Combination, Friendship, Hogwarts First Year, Hogwarts Inter-House Friendships, Other, Ravenclaw Pride, some canon divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25530700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merenrys/pseuds/Merenrys
Summary: Most children aren't really thrilled to go back to school when summer end, but not Aubrianna Kingsleigh. Not since she learns she was accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her first year will prove to be both challenging and marvellous. Between friendship and magic, she will learn how to fit in this world of magic.
Series: The Life of Aubrianna Kingsleigh [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849873





	The Year She Discovered She Was a Witch

It all began by a knock. It always began with a knock.

It was a beautiful day of summer. Patrick Kingsleigh and Marianne Kingsleigh were in their living room, both reading. He was reading _The Times_ while his wife was reading a book about trauma during childhood and the link to serial killers. He was a successful politician with the seat of Prime Minister in his sight – well it was his wish. Patrick was a tall man with stormy grey eyes, a tan skin and short chestnut hair. Marianne was a renowned psychiatrist, a specialist of childhood and its impact on adulthood. She was a small woman with glasses in front of her light blue eyes. Her long curly blond hair was tied in a high ponytail and she wore make-up to make a pale skin darker. Patrick's mother, Katherine, was sitting next to the bow-window of the three-story house which was facing one of Kensington's street. She used to be a beautiful woman. She still had long white hair but her green eyes had lost their sparks a long time ago. Her beauty was the reason she got married to her rich husband – dead by now.

The family wasn't completed at this hour of the day. Patrick and Marianne's daughter was at school, finishing the last day in her school before the long holiday her parents had programmed. She had turned eleven during the month of May and was rather excited to go with her parents in New-Zealand.

She stormed into the house screaming _Holidays! Holidays! Holidays! Let's go to New-Zealand!_ The housemaid hadn't even the time to open the door. She was an old woman who had seen the little girl grow up from a baby to a young girl full of energy and with an incredible thirst for knowledge. Her name was Rosaline Andrews, she was a French-English woman who used to speak to the little girl in French making her fluent in that tongue. Her mother tried to taught her Gaelic because she wanted her daughter to know better her Irish origins even if her grandparents – on her mother side – were dead since she was four, but she had struggles with the tongue.

The little girl was named Aubrianna. She had the stormy eyes of her father, still her's looked like a sky after the storm rather than the storm itself. Dark blond wavy hair – something between her father's hair and her mother's – were matching with her eyes. Her hair was falling a bit over her waist, they had a bouncy look even if they were thin. On her right eyebrow there was a little scar. It was due to a fall of a horse. Aubrianna ran into the living room kissing both of her parents on the cheek and hugging the old housemaid.

“You seem quite happy sweetie, how was school today?” smiled Marianne while her daughter was running into the kitchen

“Best. Day. Of. My. Life!” she screamed, “No more school!”

“Until September.” remind her Patrick, “We'll buy your new uniform in August with your new books, aren't you exited?” that calm down his only child, who stopped running into the house and looked at her father, eyes wide open.

“I was. But for the holidays.”

“Don't worry sweetheart, we'll stay half of the month of July in New-Zealand. And at the beginning of August we'll go shopping for your new school. You're going to love it. What can be better than that?”

“Dad will stay with us the whole time?”

“No, Aubrianna I have work to do. Being a politician isn't easy. Maybe, one day, you'll know what it is.”

“I don't want to be a politician; I'm going to be... something else!”

Marianne laughed at her husband face. He was trying so hard to made his daughter a future politician but she was going on the opposite direction. Marianne order Rosaline to take the girl to her room to clean her a bit.

To speak about room was a bit of a euphemism since the little girl had a whole stair for herself. She had a big bed in which ten like her could fit in, in a room full of family pictures, trophies for well-behaviour and good grades, a little balcony with a telescope and a bench. A room only for her clothes, a bathroom only she used and a huge open space where her toys and books were. She was spoiled even before her birth. Her mother always wanted a daughter while her father wanted a boy first then a girl. But she was born first and complication came on the way, leaving Marianne unable to bear another child without risking her life and the baby's. It was a risk Patrick wasn't willing to take.

This day was extraordinary normal for the Kingsleighs. Still Patrick had this strange feeling. The same feeling he had the day these owls flew all over London in plain day without any explanation or the star-fall in Kent. At that time Aubrianna was a little older than a year but she had done something her father couldn't possibly forget: a rose appeared in her tiny hand. Considering they were in her nursery, in front of her crib, where roses weren't supposed to be. Actually there were no roses in the house or in the garden because Marianne was allergic to roses. It was strange for Patrick to think about the rose. It had been nearly ten years since he hadn't thought about it.

Yes, it was a knock. A simple knock that changed the life of every Kingsleigh in the house. A knock and an unusual name Patrick never heard.

“She says her name's Minerva McGonagall.” said Rosaline to her employers, “She seems to have my age but I wear better and I know how to dress. She looks like one of those kids who think it's funny to look like a scarecrow.”

“It's fine Rosaline, take Aubry with you. I'll speak to that woman. She's maybe lost.”

“She said she wanted to see the girl too. She said she has something for her. Should I call the police?”

“That won't be necessary.” said a voice behind them.

It was a woman. A tall one. She looked severed but the tiny smile on her face made her quite sympathetic. Patrick led her to the living room and asked Rosaline to make some tea for their guest. He made the presentation with his wife and then, they all waited for the little girl to come into the living room as she used to do: with energy and figurative firework. When she entered the living room, Aubrianna wore a light blue floral dress, it fell a bit under her knees and it was sleeveless. Her mother smiled when she saw her little girl, _she's so pretty_ , was her first thought. Aubrianna jumped on her mother's lap and looked directly at the strange women.

“Who's that?” questioned the girl, “Never see you before, are you going to work for papa?”

“I am Minerva McGonagall, professor of Transfiguration at Hogwarts. I'm here to announce you,” she looked at Marianne and Patrick, “that your daughter Aubrianna Saoirse Kingsleigh is a witch.”

“A witch?” laughed Marianna, “Yes, and I'm the queen of England. Listen I don't know what you were thinking when you knock on our door but it won't work.”

“Let her speak Mary.” Marianne looked at her husband. She was confused and surprised, but Patrick was even more confused and surprised. He was staring at the old woman like her words could explain his whole life.

“You know something Mr. Kingsleigh, am I right?” Patrick nodded, “What have she done? And when?”

“A rose, when she was about a year old. Blue and black petals, in her tiny hand. My wife's allergic to roses, I knew it could only be her. I knew she was special but not that kind of special.”

“Everything you need to know is in that letter. For further information you can ask me. I feel like your wife and you need to talk. I'll wait in the kitchen.”

The couple followed the old woman with their eyes. Marianne turned her head toward her husband. They all forgot about the main subject of the conversation: Aubrianna. The little girl didn't really understand what the woman meant by being a witch. The old lady looked like the typical witch she could see at Halloween but there was something more about her. She managed to get out the living room without being noticed and joined the woman in the kitchen. Aubrianna saw her in front of the letter she shown to her parents. The witch slipped the letter in the hands of the eleven years-old girls.

“It's yours after all.”

Aubrianna took the letter and it felt heavy. It was made of a strange yellowish paper and it was written with a strange green ink. Aubrianna opened the letter and two pieces of parchment felt on the floor.

“Sorry.” whispered Aubrianna as she picked up the parchments

She looked at the first one:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

( _Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards_)

Dear Ms. Kingsleigh,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of

all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31th July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

“You wrote this!” smiled Aubrianna to Minerva, “So, I’m a witch. How that's possible? I never learned magic and my parents are ordinary people.”

“You are what we call a Muggle-born. Muggles are people like your parents, they can't do magic but in your family there was magic. You are the descendant of a witch or a wizard and that's why you have magic.”

“Who is it?” she asked excited

“I don't know, this isn't up to me, but one day you may know. There is a test for that but you have to be about seventeen. Read the rest.”

Aubrianna looked at the second letter. It was some kind of list of books, clothing and equipements required for her year in the magic school. She saw, at the end of the second letter that animals were accepted. She always wanted to have a pet. Now her parents couldn’t refuse her the cat she always asked for. It was only when she finished the list that she saw the witch wasn't in the kitchen anymore. She heard voices in the living room and understood that her parents were talking with the witch. Her mother seemed to be less sarcastic and more interested. Aubrianna even heard her parents betting on who was the descendant with magic in his or her blood. Minerva McGonagall had explained to Aubrianna's parents what she told her earlier and asked them to meet her in a pub called _The Leaky Cauldron_. Then she left the house.

“I don't believe it, my daughter is a witch.” exulted Marianne, “I have to say I’m a bit surprised, I mean, magic is a real thing I'll never though it could be. What do you think Patrick?”

“I won't lie I’m disappointed. My daughter will never follow my steps but I guess all of that make her even more special that she already is. And the professor said it's the best school in the wizardry world. Oh, sweetie, you've heard us? What do you think?”

“I'm going to have a wand and do magic stuff with. It's awesome! I'm so excited! Oh, before I forgot, it's the list of what I need for my first year.”

“That's a lot.” said Patrick, “Oh, oh.”

“What is it Honey?”

“She allowed to bring a pet. Owl, toad and cat are accepted.”

The couple looked at their daughter and the big smile in her face. “Clever girl”, though Patrick. Minerva McGonagall told him and his wife, they will find everything the girl needed in the many shops on Diagon Alley. New-Zealand was no more the great thing about this year for Aubrianna, now she was enthusiastic to go back to school in September.

0o0o0o0

Patrick and Marianne heard about magic during the whole time they were in New-Zealand. Aubrianna couldn't shut up about Hogwarts. Reading the letter every time she doubted about the reality of the situation. When they went home, the little girl started to count the days before meeting professor McGonagall again. Diagon Alley will be the first glimpse she would have of the wizardry world and it wasn't necessary to say she was stressed. What if everyone noticed she wasn't from two wizard parents? Is she going to have friends at Hogwarts? She barely had friend in her current school, so a magical one. Her parents seemed confident, even if they rarely talked about magic. Patrick was busy but, to make Aubrianna happy, he promised he will be here to buy her equipements. Surprisingly enough, the Prime Minister and him were seeing each other more now Aubrianna was known as a witch. Apparently, the Prime Minister was the only muggle officially aware of the existence of wizards. It was selfish from Patrick to think about his daughter as a possible mean to have more vote for the next election but now he knew, he couldn't stop thinking of all the muggle-born wizards settled in the muggle world.

The day finally came. Aubrianna was awake way earlier than she should have, explaining to her mother she couldn't find sleep due to her over-excitement. The little family drove to the street Minerva McGonagall told them. Patrick and Marianne tried to find the pub but they quickly remembered that none of them could saw the pub due to them being muggles. They let Aubrianna searching for the pub and she found it one-minute latter. The entrance was just in front of their car. They entered the pub and all the customers looked at them like they knew the couple wasn't supposed to be here. The pointy hat of professor McGonagall could be seen from the other side of the room. Relieved to see at least one familiar face, the couple and their daughter walked straight to Minerva. Despite being alone there were four glasses. Three of them were some kind of beer but it was a mix between blond beer and brown beer. The fourth glass maybe was a soda because of the bubbles but the colour looked more like a juice.

“This is butterbeer.” informed Minerva, pointing at the three beer-like drinks, “That's pumpkin fizz. Both are delicious but butterbeer has alcohol in it.” Aubrianna took a sip of her drink and was surprised to find it tasty. The big smile on her face convinced her parents to drink their own glass and they had to admit it wasn't that bad.

“So, where's Diagon Alley?” asked Patrick

“This way.” Minerva pointed to a door not far from them. It was an ordinary wooden door, “But before we go shopping for Aubrianna we have to stop at Gringotts. It's a bank. There you'll exchange your muggle currency for ours. They'll explain to you how the currency works, it's not complicated.”

They finished their drinks and then followed Minerva. Behind the door there was nothing. Literally. Just some barrels here and there but except the barrels there was nothing more. A wooden floor and brick walls. No need to say Aubrianna was disappointing. She had expected more. Something like a portal or a magic door which can transport you wherever you want.

“Hum... maybe I’m not an expert, but this is going to be hard to find all the stuff I need for school. I mean, are the barrels magic?”

“Just step aside the wall and you'll see.” Minerva McGonagall smiled at Aubrianna; she took a stick from a pocket in her robe.

Aubrianna understood that the stick was actually a magic wand. The witch tapped one of the bricks. Quickly after, the wall began to move and a street appeared. It was a long street of huge buildings with colourful facade. The street was full of people dressed like Minerva but also kids of Aubrianna's age. If most of them looked like they had already saw this street others were amazed by it and ran from one shop to another. Aubrianna took her letter with all the equipements required and gave it to her mother. She was sure her mother could easy find the correct shop for each of the items.

“Gringotts is this way.” Informed Minerva and she took the head of the group and led them to the snow-white marble building. It was imposing but beautiful at the same time, “Before we enter, I must warn you, in this building you'll meet goblins. They're running the bank system, so it's better if, for this time, I speak and you say nothing. They don't really like wizards, so muggles... I prefer not tempt fate.”

The door of the bank opened by themselves. After they had gone through a small hall, they had in front of them a bigger hall with marble everywhere their eyes went. Hundreds of goblins were working, coins around them. Aubrianna was amazed but she thought the creatures were strange, looking at her to make her feel out of place. She didn't heard half of what the professor said but her parents were very attentive. All she knew was now she had wizard's money and it was time for her to buy her school uniform.

“When you'll be sorted into a house at Hogwart, the symbol of this house will be added on your robes.”

“Tell me more about the houses of Hogwarts, how that work?”

“You'll know everything once arrived at Hogwarts. Now, where we'll begin?”

“I want my wand first!”

“Ollivanders it is then.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this first chapter, I intend to do all the books/movies. I'll try to keep as close to the books as possible but it's possible sometimes I'll use time flash forward.
> 
> Another thing, English isn't my mother tongue. If I was from the wizarding world I would have go to Beauxbâtons rather than Hogwarts or Ilvermorny so there may have spelling, grammatical and/or syntactical mistakes as well as wrong verbal tenses. I don't have a Beta to correct my work so it's mainly me trying to find my own mistakes, so please be nice if you see one. I'm not asking for you not to tell me, quite the contrary but just tell me how to correct myself.
> 
> Finally, I do appreciate critical comments as log as they're constructive and not simply "That's suck". And now i realise I wrote a lot for a simple note. Promise, the next one will be smaller. Already 8 chapters are written but I have no idea if I'll be consistent in my posting. I'll try.
> 
> See you soon. Always.


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